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Scrophulariaceae FAMILY

Verbascum nigrum

Verbascum nigrum

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitBiennial/Perennial
Growth—

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most well-drained soils, including dry ones, preferring a sunny position[1, 2]. Dislikes shade and wet soils[3, 2]. Plants only really thrive when they are grown on chalky soils[2]. Prefers a light soil[2]. This species is fairly reliably perennial[2], but only when grown on light or medium soils[1]. A very ornamental plant, it often self-sows[4, 1]. Hybridizes with other members of this genus, though the progeny are usually sterile[2].

Propagation

Seed - sow late spring to early summer in a cold frame and only just cover the seed[2]. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks. When they are large enough to handle, prick out the seedlings into individual pots and plant them out in late summer. The seed has a long viability[2]. Division in spring. This plant is a short-lived perennial that grows away very well from seed, so we do not try and divide it. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Verbascum+nigrum>

Pollinators

Flies, Lepidoptera, Self

References

  1. [1]Popular Hardy Perennials. — Sanders. T. W. · Collingridge · 1926 · ISBN - ↩︎A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]The Garden. Volume 113. — RHS. · Royal Horticultural Society · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS, including details on Podophyllum, Canna and Protea species.
  4. [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  5. [5]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
  6. [6]The Herb Book. — Lust. J. · Bantam books · 1983 · ISBN 0-553-23827-2 ↩︎Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
  7. [7]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.